1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system, and a method of determining applicability of moving image information to an application program, and more particularly to a vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication system, and a method of determining applicability of moving image information to an application program which are suitable for use in a vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus having a capability of transmitting/receiving moving image information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, great advances have been achieved in communication technology. In particular, a vehicle-to-vehicle communication technique using communication means such as a wireless LAN, Bluetooth, or specified low power radio equipment has received attention. A vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus installed in a vehicle allows it to perform wireless communication with another nearby vehicle, whereby various kinds of information acquired from the nearby vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle communication can be displayed on a monitor screen of an in-vehicle navigation apparatus or the like.
Some vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus have a capability of transmitting/receiving moving image information. In such vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus, for example, it is possible to transmit moving image information taken by a camera installed in a first vehicle to a second vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle communication and display the acquired moving image information on a monitor screen of the second vehicle. When an image taken by a camera installed in a first vehicle traveling ahead of a second vehicle is displayed on a monitor screen of the second vehicle, it is known to select a proper image to be displayed (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-139284). This publication also discloses a technique to control a process according to a preset program such that when a particular condition is met, particular information is automatically acquired from another vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle communication and is used as required.
In recent years, various in-vehicle application programs have been provided which use moving image information. Specific examples of application programs are a merge support program and a congestion monitor program for use with a navigation apparatus, a collision avoidance program and a surrounding monitor program for detecting a nearby vehicle or an obstacle using moving image information, a parking assistance program, a video telephone program, and a drive recorder program. Moving image information acquired from another vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle communication can also be used by these application programs.
However, the requirement for low transmission delay and/or high image quality of moving image information varies depending on the application program which uses the moving image information. In other words, moving image information acquired from another vehicle via vehicle-to-vehicle communication is not always applicable to all application programs. However, in the conventional vehicle-to-vehicle communication apparatus, the applicability of moving image information to application programs is not taken into account at all.